This week we were instructed to write our blog posts, reflecting on our HAPs. I am currently involved in two HAPs, one being the oral history blog with Chase, and the other being the Pop-Up Park proposal with Sylvia, Danyi, Jacklyn, Rhiannon and Nhi, with most of my efforts being devoted to the former, as the pop-up park will need more effort in the later part of the project timeline.
The oral history blog came along well. However, we received a fraction of the number of blog entries that we would have liked. Understandably, due to the intimacy of the project, many EPs opted out of their oral histories being publicly shared.That being said, we did adjust our blog model to only include any names in initials rather than their full form to protect the EPs’ privacies. If the EPs knew this, maybe they would have thought differently. Hopefully, we can get a more detailed list of past LCS cohort contact info, and make it an effort going forward to have an accurate and complete list for all new cohorts.
We also hope to promote the collection of oral histories in other places, not just LCS, so that the project can reach a larger audience and create a wider network full of lessons and memories. Within UCSD, we could harness the power to reach a large population of students that would be interested in conducting their own oral history projects. There are many resources on campus for intergenerational activities as well as research on aging. By tapping into other groups with common missions and interests to LCS, we could create a trend of oral history collecting.
Qualitative data is often unfairly discounted. I think this may have to do with the fact that often, the information is so rich and dense, that clear trends and patterns are for more difficult to recognize and therefore apply to the mission that the research seeks to complete. However, the lack of acknowledgement of the value of qualitative research has caused issues regarding the addressing of problems not considered to be statistically relevant. For example, if we were to rely solely on statistics for the relevance of Alzheimer’s disease, we would consider this condition an anomaly and not worth studying, as it only affects 10% of the population over 65. However, the projected numbers will be much higher, as many as 16 million people will have Alzheimer’s disease by the year 2030. This creates a greater urgency. Again, the fact that currently only 10% of people over 65 have Alzheimer’s can show a lack of urgency for action and cures, but upon further investigation, it is a very pressing issue.
Similar logic can explain the importance of qualitative data. Although we may not see a clear trend indicating problems and disparities amongst older people in numbers, it does not mean they don’t exist. This is where the oral history projects and other research that measures more than just numbers come into play and become more important. We should approach providing solutions for our aging population from a holistic perspective, understanding that solutions to certain group’s problems could also be the solution for others.
The oral history blogs can serve as an archive for the collection of this qualitative data, where we can learn how people’s struggles and memories have shaped their lives. Where can we improve our system so that our children have to continue dealing with the same barriers? How can we replicate the aspects of our systems that function well?
The oral history blog came along well. However, we received a fraction of the number of blog entries that we would have liked. Understandably, due to the intimacy of the project, many EPs opted out of their oral histories being publicly shared.That being said, we did adjust our blog model to only include any names in initials rather than their full form to protect the EPs’ privacies. If the EPs knew this, maybe they would have thought differently. Hopefully, we can get a more detailed list of past LCS cohort contact info, and make it an effort going forward to have an accurate and complete list for all new cohorts.
We also hope to promote the collection of oral histories in other places, not just LCS, so that the project can reach a larger audience and create a wider network full of lessons and memories. Within UCSD, we could harness the power to reach a large population of students that would be interested in conducting their own oral history projects. There are many resources on campus for intergenerational activities as well as research on aging. By tapping into other groups with common missions and interests to LCS, we could create a trend of oral history collecting.
Qualitative data is often unfairly discounted. I think this may have to do with the fact that often, the information is so rich and dense, that clear trends and patterns are for more difficult to recognize and therefore apply to the mission that the research seeks to complete. However, the lack of acknowledgement of the value of qualitative research has caused issues regarding the addressing of problems not considered to be statistically relevant. For example, if we were to rely solely on statistics for the relevance of Alzheimer’s disease, we would consider this condition an anomaly and not worth studying, as it only affects 10% of the population over 65. However, the projected numbers will be much higher, as many as 16 million people will have Alzheimer’s disease by the year 2030. This creates a greater urgency. Again, the fact that currently only 10% of people over 65 have Alzheimer’s can show a lack of urgency for action and cures, but upon further investigation, it is a very pressing issue.
Similar logic can explain the importance of qualitative data. Although we may not see a clear trend indicating problems and disparities amongst older people in numbers, it does not mean they don’t exist. This is where the oral history projects and other research that measures more than just numbers come into play and become more important. We should approach providing solutions for our aging population from a holistic perspective, understanding that solutions to certain group’s problems could also be the solution for others.
The oral history blogs can serve as an archive for the collection of this qualitative data, where we can learn how people’s struggles and memories have shaped their lives. Where can we improve our system so that our children have to continue dealing with the same barriers? How can we replicate the aspects of our systems that function well?